Bathing suit



July 26, 1932. M. R, SMAI Q 1,868,854

BATHING SUIT Filed Feb. 5, 1932 INVENTOR WITNESSES mar J1 I ATTORNEYPatented July 26, 1932 MORRIS a. slams, or nanmsnunegrmmmvam BATHIIl'Gsun Application filed February 5, 1 932; Serial Io. 591,150.

This invention relates to improvements in bathing suits, and itsobje'ctsare as follows First, to provide a bathing suit which is originallyknitted in form-fitting shape, that is to say, knitted with the bust andhip por tions wider than the waist and hem'portions, said bust and hipportions being made with identical stitch formations but different.

from the identical stitch-formations of the m waist and hem port-ionsfor the purpose ,of enabling different degrees ofstretching as laterbrought out.

Second, to provide a bathing suit of a seamless form-fitting typewherein the bust, waist,

1;; hip and hem portions are made with such types of stitches as willenable on easy expansion of the suit to fita number of figuresizes,-forexample, a suit originally designed to fit a #38 figure hasthose qualities of elasticity which enable it to readily adapt itself tosizes 36 or 40.

' Third, to knit the bathing suit according to a method whereby a largenumberof suits are knitted in one continuous, seamless tubular piece buthaving the successive bust, waist, hip and hem portions clearly definedtherein as to form, said'hem portions providing markers to indicatewhere the tubular piece is to be cut in order to separate the successivegarments.

Fourth, to provide a circumferentially continuous tubular bathing suitfabric which comprises a plurality of sections originally knitted ondouble ogee curves to originally 85 form the bust, waist and hipportions, said sections being divided bysubstantially cy-,

lindrical hem portions which connect adjacent bust and hip-portions andprovide cutindicating places.

accompanying drawing in Fifth, to provide a bathing suit in which thetrunk portion is knitted on the same in the following specification,reference beportion turned back in order to illustrate the trunkformation.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a contlnuous, piece of tubular fabricshowing how successive sections are knitted to originally form the bust,waist, hip and hem portions.

Figure 4 is a. detail view showing one of the bathing suit sections cutfrom the fore going contmuous piece of tubular fabric.

Attention isrdirected to the drawing. F igure 1 is a perspective view ofa suit made in accordance with the invention. The bust 1 and hip portion2 are coarsely knitted, for example, with a type of stitch which pro- .5duces heavy outstanding wales 3 with rather deeply depressed lines 4therebetween, enabling a great amount of lateral expansion and asuflicient amount of longitudinal expansion to enable the adaptation ofa given suit to a number of different figure sizes. 7 1

This feature is important from a manufacturing standpoint. The presentpractice is to make suits for every known figure size, which sizes, forinstance for adult figures, 15 may run 34, 36, 38 etc. all the way to54, thus necessitating the making of eleven different sizes of suits.According to that quality of the instant suit which enables not onlyits. stretching to an oversize but also its conw formity to a figurewhich may be of a size smaller than indicated by the suit size itbecomes possible'to make a given suit cover a number of figure sizes sothat instead of distributi'ng eleven different sizes to the trade :5 itis possible to distribute. only five or six to cover all of the figuresizes enumerated above. 7 c

The foregoing featurealso has a notable advantage from the wearersstandpoint. It may be that a. person has a longer trunk measurementthannormal. Asuit of conventional size, bought to fit the bust and hipmeasurementwould be too short for the trunk measurement. The improvedsuit, however, 9:: if purchased for the bust and hip measure ments willhave suflicient longitudinal elasticity'to fit all variations in trunkmeasurement so that the suit will fit a person who isshorter and alsoaperson who is longer 1 cured approximately along the line 8 The hemhugs the body of the wearer and tends to prevent flaring of the hipportion 2.

. The edges of the arm and neck openings 9 and 10 are turned under andstitched to prevent unraveling. In Figure 2 the trunks 11 are knittedwith a stitch like that in the bust and hip portions. The upper terminal12 of the trunks is finely knitted along the waist portion 5. lhe upperedge of this terminal is secured approximately along the line 13 (Figs.1 and 2) at the place where the waist 5 and hip 2 merge. A gusset 14 isconnected between the legs of the trunks. In performthe method of makingthe bathing suit 1n fa ric, the hems 7 provide markers, so to speak, toindicate to the operator where to cut the continuous tubular piece intobathing suit sections.

The result of this cutting is a circumferential continuous tubularfabric piece or section. The sections are originally knitted in doubleogee curve formations to rovide the bust, waist and hip portions.onsidering Figure 3, the foregoing sections are produced by cuttingalong successive lines 15, the section in Figure 4 being the result;

I claim 1. In a bathing suit, bust and hip portions composed of acoarsely knitted fabric having a large factor of longitudinal expansion,trunks inside of the hip portion being partially composed of a similarcoarsely knitted fabric also having a large factor of longitudinalexpansion, waist and hem portions respectively connecting the bust andhip portions and bounding the free end of the hip portion, beingcomposed of a finely knitted fabric having a small factor oflongitudinal expansion, an upper waist terminal on the trunks composedof finely knitted fabric similar to said waist and hem portions, andmeans attaching said terminal to the place of connection of the waistand hip portions in substantial continuity with said waist portion, saidattaching means occurring on a circumferential line substantiallymedially of the combined finely knitted waist fabrics.

2. A bathing suit comprising a finely g0 knitted waist portion andcoarsely knitted bust and hip portions having inherent double ogeecurves and being continuously knitted in the circumferential directionto compose a tubular fabric, and trunks attached 0 inside of the hipportion, having the main body portion thereof of continuously knittedtubular form.

'3. The herein described method consisting of knitting a continuoustubular fabric knitted to form a succession of double ogee curves toprovide a plurality of bathing suit sections, having bust, waist and hipportions, and knitting substantially cylindrical hem portions in thetubular fabric between adjacent waist and hip portions.

4. A bathing suit comprising a finely knit waist portion and coarselyknitted bust and hip portions having inherent double ogee curves andbeing continuously knitted in the circumferential direction to compose atubular fabric, trunks attached inside of the hip portion, having themain body portion thereof of continuously knitted tubular form, and ahem on said hip portion, said hem providing a cutting line betweenadjacent bathing suit sections, at which line the sections are separablewhile in an original continuous tubular form.

5. A bathing suit comprising bust and hip portions composed of a coarseknitting expansible both laterally and longitudinally, a waist portionconnecting the bust and hip portions comprising a belt of fine knittinghaving its principal expansion laterally, a-

doubled hem onthe hip portion comprising a doubled fabric of fineknitting also having its principal expansion laterally, trunks mainlycomposed of a coarse knitting occupying a position inside of the hipportion and being contacted against by the said doubled hem, and anupper terminal on the trunks comprising aband of fine knitting, the edgeof said terminal being attached at thelower line of demarcation betweenthe waist and hip portions thereby providin a relatively broad bodyengaging band of e knitting.

6. A bathing suit comprising a body-contacting structure including bustand trunk portions of coarsely knitted fabric, a waist portionconnecting the bustand trunk portions comprising a relatively broad bandof finely knitted fabric, and a hip portion providing a skirt comprisinga coarsely knitted fabric having its upper edge joining the bodystructure at a circumferential line substantially medially of said waistportion.

MORRIS R. SMARR.

